


Lines

by trappednightingale



Category: The Hobbit (2012), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-25
Updated: 2013-01-25
Packaged: 2017-11-26 21:31:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/654619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trappednightingale/pseuds/trappednightingale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes a picture can say a thousand words about the one who draws it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lines

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Наброски](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2532293) by [Jiminy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jiminy/pseuds/Jiminy)



Bilbo awoke with a start, looking around in confusion for a moment before remembering where he was. They’d been on this adventure for several days now, but he still often woke feeling lost and disoriented. Knowing sleep likely wouldn’t be finding him again that night, he sighed and moved over to where Kíli was hunched over the fire.

 

The dwarf glanced over at him and gave him a small smile. “Didn’t sleep well?”

 

“Not really.”

 

“Not ever more like.” Kíli retorted. “You haven’t slept through the night since we set out, have you?”

 

“No, I haven’t.” Bilbo admitted quietly. “Have you?”

 

“Some nights, but not all. Nights I can’t, I help keep watch.” He gestured towards where Fíli was perched on a nearby rock. Bilbo noticed Kíli subtly moving his hands to cover the parchment on his lap and immediately commented on it.

 

“What were you working on? Keeping a journal?”

 

“Of course not!” Kíli protested. “Idle scribbling are Ori’s thing.”

 

“So what’s your thing, then?” Bilbo sat down next to him, glancing over at the piece of parchment.

 

“I, erm... I draw.” Kíli admitted after a moment, showing Bilbo the page. It was a rough sketch of Fíli gazing off into the distance, but the detail in even such a rough sketch was breathtaking. The amount of detail was exquisite, even down to the clasps in Fíli’s braids.

 

“Wow, I mean, that is…You’re really good.” Bilbo remarked, placing a hand on Kíli’s shoulder. “Where did you learn to draw like that?”

 

Kíli turned away, flushing slightly. “No one ever taught me. I just started sketching once, when I was very young, and haven’t quite been able to stop.”

 

“Mind if I stay up with you and watch?” Bilbo asked quietly.

 

“No, not at all.” Kíli smiled at him and Bilbo moved closer, enjoying the warmth of having another body next to him. He missed the warmth of his living room in Bag End, but Kíli’s presence soothed him, and it eventually lulled him to sleep, head coming to rest on Kíli’s shoulder.

 

*          *          *

“I wouldn’t think you’d have trouble sleeping here. Rivendell seems like just your sort of place.” Kíli remarked as Bilbo moved to sit next to him in front of the little fire the dwarves had built in the courtyard. Bilbo just shrugged in response.

 

“It’s lovely here… I supposed I’ve just grown accustomed to sleeping alongside the company.”

 

Bilbo noticed a small smile on Kíli’s lips at that, even as his gaze was focused on his drawing. Bilbo couldn’t distinguish the figure Kíli was sketching, but he decided it didn’t quite matter. Kíli didn’t mind showing him once he was done, or letting him watch as his pen moved across the page and slowly formed a recognizable face or landscape, depending on Kíli’s mood. Tonight, it looked like a face, so Bilbo pressed closer to him in order to better watch. The sound of the pen scratching against the parchment was soothing, and watching the strokes of ink appearing on the page was almost hypnotic in nature.

 

When Bilbo woke, his head was resting on Kíli’s shoulder, and Kíli’s own head was resting against his. He noted that the fire had all but died, meaning several hours had passed since he initially sat down. He shifted his head to glance down at the drawing on Kíli’s lap, and his breath caught in his throat. His own face was staring back at him, but there was something about it, something off. The amount of detail into this drawing versus ones Kíli had drawn in the past spoke of a fondness that Bilbo had never encountered before, and certainly not directed towards himself. He scolded himself quickly, told himself he was reading too much into the simple act of being a subject of Kíli’s drawings. But he still allowed his fingers to move over the page, visualizing the way the dwarf’s pen would have danced over the parchment as the lines formed.

 

Bilbo felt the dwarf stirring, and he slowly removed his head from Kíli’s shoulder, giving him an apologetic smile. “Sorry…that seems to be happening a lot.”

 

“Perfectly alright Mister Baggins. I do not mind all that much.” The dwarf returned the smile, then yawned. He glanced down at the parchment, and his smile immediately faded. “I, um, I’m sorry, I should’ve asked if it was—”

 

“No, it’s…it’s fine. I like it!” Bilbo realized his voice had gotten a bit loud on the last sentence, so he hurried to quiet himself. “That is. It’s very good, and… yes.” He finished lamely, having to force himself to look away from the drawing again, trying not to seem too interested.

 

“Well, it’s getting a bit late.” Kíli yawned again. “Think you’ll be able to sleep now?”

 

“Hm? Oh, yes, I believe so.” Bilbo slowly rose to his feet then all but shouted in protest as Kíli moved to throw the parchment into the fire. The dwarf gave him a curious look, and he smiled sheepishly. “That is…it’s a very nice drawing. If you’re just going to throw it away…could I have it? That is, if you don’t mind.”

 

“No, not at all.” Kíli shrugged and handed him the paper. “I don’t usually hang on to these sorts of things, Uncle says they’ll just weigh us down if we obsess over keeping track of things like idle scribbling.”

 

Bilbo smiled and tucked the page into his shirt. “Thorin already sees me as a burden anyhow. What’s another piece of paper going to do to make that worse?” he laughed lightly. “Goodnight, Kíli.”

 

“Goodnight, Mister Baggins.” Something passed between them, an almost silent…understanding of sorts, but Bilbo shrugged it off as he returned to his bedroll. They didn’t have long in Rivendell and it wouldn’t do to spend what little time they had mulling over every strange occurrence. But even as he closed his eyes, all he could think of was Kíli, and the soft expression he wore when he began to draw.

*          *          *

“Back to our routine then?” Bilbo asked, a slight smile on his face as Kíli moved to sit next to him in front of the fire.

 

“Couldn’t let you keep watch on your own, not on our first night out of Rivendell.” Kíli smiled in response, already pulling out a leather-bound book of blank parchment he most likely stole from the elves; Bilbo had learned to look the other way when it came to dealings between the elves and dwarves.

 

“Well, as always, your companionship is much appreciated.” Their gazes held for a moment before Kíli glanced away, still smiling but with a slight flush on his cheeks. Bilbo nudged him gently. “You all right?”

 

“Yeah, I’m great.” Kíli glanced up and gave him a brief smile. “I just…I’m surprised at how well we get on. We didn’t at first—”

 

“In my defense, you did track mud on my carpets and desecrate my mother’s glory box. Not to mention I was convinced that you were going to break all of my tableware.”

 

“We did do a number on your home. I’m sorry about that.”

 

“Yes, well. You righted it all before you left, so there was no harm done.” Bilbo shrugged. “I wasn’t sure I had made the right decision, coming along on your adventure. But then you were there, coming to my rescue after I was certain the trolls were going to eat me.”

 

“I never should have sent you there. I knew it was dangerous, and yet, I egged you on—”

 

“And you also promised to be right behind me, and you were. That’s what matters. You were brave, to charge them like you did.”

 

“Isn’t brave just a kind word for stupidity?”

 

Bilbo laughed. “Yes, I’ve heard something like that once. But even if it was incredibly stupid to try to take on three trolls on your own, it was also impressive. I distinctly remember you felling one, even if it only stayed down for a short time.”

 

“But in the end, it was you who saved us, Mister Baggins. We would have died were it not for your quick thinking.”

 

“All I did was stall for time. Gandalf was the one who—”

 

“Don’t give the old wizard credit for the sun rising, he’ll get a big ego.” They both laughed at that, and Bilbo noticed how they moved slightly closer to each other with the action. Kíli’s fingers began tracing over the leather cover, and Bilbo could almost picture the shapes he was making.

 

“Mister Baggins, I—”

 

“You can call me Bilbo, you know. You did, before.”

 

“Yes, but your life was on the line at the time. I didn’t think it counted.”

 

“It counted. I prefer it, actually. Mister Baggins sounds so…uptight and proper, and I feel as though we’re past all that now.”

 

“Alright, then. Bilbo.” Kíli said, a grin forming on his face. “You’re right, much better.”

 

“Thought it might be.”

 

“I was wondering if you would mind…that is. Could I draw you again?”

 

Bilbo’s smile was soft, affectionate almost as he answered. “I would like that very much. You don’t have to feel strange about it—”

 

“I know, it’s just…I felt bad for not asking last time.”

 

“You shouldn’t. I don’t mind at all.” Bilbo reluctantly moved away from Kíli, shifting so he was facing the dwarf more. Kíli gave him a brief smile, then leaned forward and hesitantly brushed some of his hair away from his face.

 

“Can’t see your eyes.” He explained, voice barely over a murmur as his fingers moved to rest on Bilbo’s jaw. He pressed lightly, tilting his face more towards the light of the fire. Bilbo was instantly aware of how close they were, and it seemed as though Kíli had reached the same state of awareness as his brown eyes flicked up to meet his gaze. Those eyes held a thousand questions, questions that were running through Bilbo’s own mind.

 

The hobbit could feel his heart hammering in his chest, and he wanted to laugh. Where had this nervousness been when he had faced down the troll? Surely his heart hadn’t been beating so fast then, and yet the proximity of one of his dear friends was causing this reaction.

 

Slowly, he brought a hand up to grip Kíli’s wrist lightly, thumb rubbing along the barely visible veins on the inside of the joint. His pulse was fast as well, and that was the only confirmation Bilbo needed to lean forward and press his lips to Kíli’s.

 

The kiss was soft, their lips dry as they brushed against each other. He could feel Kíli tense in surprise, then relax for the briefest of moments before the fingers on his jaw tightened, drawing him closer to deepen the kiss.

 

It was electrifying, and much different from the exploratory kisses exchanged in his younger years. Bilbo only had a moment to ponder why that was before Kíli was pulling away. His grip on the dwarf’s wrist tightened almost without his consent, then he was leaning forward to kiss Kíli again, already missing the feeling of those lips on his own.

 

Kíli kept this kiss chaste, pulling away after only a brief moment. There was a serious look on his face as he spoke. “My kind…we don’t do this lightly. This—”

 

“Neither do I.” Bilbo cut in, shaking his head. “I want…All I’ve ever wanted is something that actually means something, something that matters—”

 

“Then you’ll have it.” This time it was Kíli who interrupted, a smile forming on his face. “That is…if you’ll have me.”

 

Bilbo grinned in response, rushing forward to kiss him again with an enthusiasm that their previous kisses had lacked despite their passion. When they finally broke apart, their cheeks were flushed and their eyes were bright. Bilbo took a moment to breathe, to take in the happiness that he had never known to be possible.

 

“There’s nothing in this world I would prefer to calling you mine.”


End file.
